Instead of modeling his sketches after Marvel’s original Avengers superheroes from the comics, artist Xi Ding has drawn inspiration from the real-life cast members of the films.

This includes Benedict Cumberbatch—the Dr Strange lead recently vowed to accept roles only if his female co-stars were paid equal—Robert Downey Jr. as ‘Tony Stark’, Chris Hemsworth as ‘Thor’, Chris Evans as ‘Captain America’, Chris Pratt as ‘Star-Lord’, Scarlett Johansson as ‘Black Widow’, and more.

For nearly a decade, the face design specialist has been working as a live performance caricature artist, with six years of experience in digital illustration under his belt.

All this practice has helped Xi Ding learn how to deftly exaggerate facial qualities, a skill that’s evident in his Marvel-ous Avengers-themed drawings, shared through @xidingart on Instagram.

“I use the painting app ‘Procreate’ on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil for all of the Avengers drawings,” writes the artist inside an email to DesignTAXI.

It takes the caricature creator almost a day to finish each piece. While they might look incredible to many of his fans, Xi Ding admits that he isn’t always fully satisfied with the results.

“Some faces are very difficult to stylize. For example, that of ‘Captain America’ (played by Chris Evans), which took me almost a week, on and off, for getting the final design, and I’m not even happy with it.”

“Many ask me how to do this kind of cartoon designs. I think the first and crucial step is to have a very solid foundation in realistic drawing and a good understanding of anatomy. Then one can learn the language of stylization by studying other artists’ designs.”

Each graphic comes with a layer-for-layer breakdown that sheds light on Xi Ding’s creative process, with his project files available for purchase online.

Enjoy a selection of Xi Ding’s art below and follow the illustrator on Instagram @xidingart for regular updates on his work.

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